Page 2 - Department Of Telecom

Govt cracks down on SMS scammers, blacklists principal entities involved

In a major crackdown on SMS scammers, the government has blacklisted 'principal entities' behind SMS headers that were used for sending over 10,000 fraudulent messages over the past three months, according to an official release. The Department of Telecom (DoT), in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has taken decisive action to protect citizens from potential SMS fraud through the Sanchar Saathi initiative, it said. Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under MHA provided information about the misuse of eight SMS headers for sending fraudulent communications for committing cybercrime. It was noted that more than 10,000 fraudulent messages were sent using these eight headers in the past three months. The principal entities which were the owners of these eight SMS headers have been blacklisted. 'Principal entities' in telecom parlance refer to business or legal entities sending out commercial messages to telecom subscribers through SMS. A header means an ..

DoT identifies property assets of BSNL and MTNL for 'outright sale'

The government has listed over 100 properties of MTNL for outright sale through an auction process

DoT asks operators to re-verify over 600,000 mobile connections in 60 days

The Department of Telecom has directed telecom operators to verify more than 6 lakh mobile connections suspected to have been obtained using invalid, non-existent, or fake documents, an official statement said on Thursday. The DoT has issued directives to telecom operators to carry out immediate re-verification of the identified mobile numbers within 60 days. "DoT has identified approximately 6.80 lakh mobile connections suspected to have been obtained using invalid, non-existent, or fake and forged Proof of Identity (PoI) and Proof of Address (PoA) KYC documents," the statement said. The department has flagged around 6.80 lakh mobile connections as potentially fraudulent after advanced AI-driven analysis. "The questionable veracity of the PoI/PoA KYC documents suggests the use of fabricated documents for obtaining these mobile connections. DoT has issued directives to the TSPs to carry out immediate re-verification of these identified mobile numbers. All TSPs are mandated to ...

DoT postpones spectrum auction by 17 days to June 6 due to elections

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has deferred the spectrum auction by 17 days to June 6 as per the amendments made in the notice inviting application for the bids on Wednesday. The department has also reduced bank guarantee and guarantee for earnest money deposit, in a move to ease liquidity for the bidders. According to the amendment, the new date for "start of the live auction" has been changed to June 6 -- after the announcement of the Lok Sabha results -- from May 20. The mock auctions will now be held on June 3 instead of May 13 and 14. The government will auction eight spectrum bands for mobile phone services at a base price of about Rs 96,317 crore. The DoT has also reduced the number of blocks for auction in the 900 Mhz band in the West Bengal circle to 44 from 48 blocks that were proposed earlier. The validity of bank guarantee for earnest money deposit (EMD) in the form of bank guarantee will be valid for less period till September 30, 2024 instead of December 31, 2024,

DoT asks telcos to suspend USSD-based call forwarding, switch to other mode

The Department of Telecom has asked telecom operators to deactivate USSD-based call forwarding with effect from April 15 and move to alternative methods to re-activate it, an official order said. Mobile subscribers use USSD service just by dialling any active code on their phone screens. The service is often used for checking IMEI numbers and mobile phone balances, among others. The order has been issued to check frauds and online crimes that are operated through mobile phones. In an order dated March 28, the DoT said that it has come to its notice that USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) based call forwarding facility, most commonly known *401# services for unconditional call forwarding services, is being misused for some unwarranted activities. "In this regard, it has been decided by the competent authority that all licensees shall discontinue the existing USSD-based call forwarding services with effect from April 15, 2024, till further notice. "All existing subscribe

DoT warns against picking up WhatsApp calls with foreign numbers +92

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) stated that callers have falsely impersonated the DoT to scam people

Cases of equipment thefts at all-time high; COAI seeks DoT's intervention

Industry body COAI on Friday sought the government's intervention on the issue of rising cases of telecom equipment theft and said telcos are incurring huge losses and expenses in replenishing equipment at affected sites, and even customers are suffering. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which counts operators like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea as its members, wrote to telecom secretary Neeraj Mittal, flagging the issue. The association has urged the Department of Telecom (DoT) to write to all State Chief Secretaries to prioritise such complaints and ensure strict action on the same. COAI also urged the DoT to issue orders for the immediate blocking of several foreign websites (including eBay, Alibaba, Telefly, Seeker816, Dorfatrade) that are "selling active equipment" suspected to have been stolen from networks of member telcos. "It is...critical that these websites are blocked immediately," COAI said. COAI requested the DoT to urgently interven

Centre to form panel to check rising internet, WhatsApp-based spam calls

The proposal to set up the panel was made in an inter-ministerial meeting on the issue chaired by Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh on Thursday, the Consumers Affairs Department said

Telecom department blocks more than 1,500 numbers linked to cyber threats

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) blocked international and local phone numbers associated with cybercrimes and threats, aiming to curb misuse of telecom resources

Airtel gets notice from DoT for violation of subscriber verification norms

Bharti Airtel on Monday said it has received a notice from the telecom department for an alleged violation of subscriber verification norms, entailing a penalty of Rs 3.57 lakh. In a BSE filing, the telecom operator informed that the notice pertains to Bihar LSA and was received on January 8, 2024. "We submit the details of notice received by the company from the Department of Telecommunications," Airtel said, informing about the "notice imposing a penalty of Rs 3,57,000 for alleged violation of subscriber verification norms". Citing details, the company said it pertained to an alleged violation of terms and conditions with respect to subscriber verification norms under the Licence Agreement, pursuant to a sample customer application form (CAF) audit conducted by the Department of Telecom for September 2023.

Centre to disburse Rs 400 cr to 20 firms under PLI scheme for telecom gear

All of these 20 companies, including Nokia and Jabil, have met their targets under the production-linked incentive scheme for manufacturing telecom goods

PM Modi to inaugurate 'India Mobile Congress 2023' on October 27: DoT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 7th edition of the country's biggest telecom industry event, 'India Mobile Congress 2023', the Department of Telecom said in a post on social media platform X on Wednesday. The three-day event has been jointly organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). "Hon'ble PM Shri Narendra Modi set to inaugurate India Mobile Congress 2023 on 27th October, 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi," DoT wrote on X. The event is expected to witness 1,00,000-plus participants, more than 1,300 delegates, over 400 speakers, 225-plus exhibitors and 400 startups this year. In total, there will be participation from 31 countries. Also, this year India Mobile Congress will introduce 'Aspire', a startup programme, that will lay emphasis on igniting the future of entrepreneurship growth among young innovators and industry delegates in the telecom and other digital domains.

DoT disposes VIL objections over license fee demand of Rs 3,273 crore

The telecom department has disposed-off Vodafone Idea's (VIL) representation and objections related to license fee demand of Rs 1,749 crore and Rs 1,524 crore, respectively, for FY2016 and FY2017, the troubled telco said. The company further said it is studying the communication to decide the next course of action. "Department of Telecommunication (DoT) vide its communication dated 04.10.2023 has disposed-off the company's representation and objections in respect of license fee demand of Rs 1,749 crore and Rs 1,524 crore respectively (including Interest till 31.03.2023) for financial Year(s) 2015-16 and 2016-17," VIL said in a regulatory filing. The company said in the past it has written to the DoT to correct the errors in demands up to FY 2016-17 "which DoT has not acted upon so far". "If, however, it is permissible for DoT to modify the demands for the period covered by the Judgment of the Supreme Court, then in that event there are various errors which need to be corrected and

NDMA tests pan-India 'emergency alert system' for disaster management

The sample testing message, sent through the Cell Broadcasting System, was timestamped at 12:19 pm on September 15

Tejas Networks hits new high, surges 9% ahead of June quarter results

Thus far in the calendar year 2023, the stock price of Tejas Networks has zoomed 53 per cent, as compared to 9.4 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex

DoT likely to approach Trai for auction of new spectrum bands this week

The Department of Telecom is likely to approach sector regulator Trai this week for auction of a set of spectrum bands as well as radio waves held by permits that are due to expire in 2024, an official source said. The source said that DoT is expected to hold the auction in the March quarter of the current fiscal. "DoT will send reference to Trai in a couple of days for auction of 37 GHz band and radio waves of telecom licenses that are due for renewal in 2024," the source told PTI on condition of anonymity. The reference is likely to include the auction of spectrum in 600 megahertz band as well as the frequency that remained unsold in the auction held in 2022. The government had put on offer spectrum in 10 bands but received no bids for airwaves in 600 MHz, 800 MHz and 2300 MHz bands. About two-thirds of the bids were for the 5G bands (3300 Mhz and 26 GHz), while more than a quarter of the demand came in the 700 Mhz band -- a band that had gone unsold in the previous two auctions

DoT to make room for 'powerful' regulator in new Telecommunications Bill

The bill, which was released last September, was opened up for wider public consultation. It is now in the final stages

No closing dates for PLI scheme, govt makes it easier to avail benefits

Apart from the semiconductor production-linked incentive scheme, the govt is also planning incentive schemes for computers and devices, telecom, automotive, and IT hardware

Centre freeing up more 5G spectrum, auction likely next year: Report

5G spectrum: Centre is looking for ways to shift some broadcasting and satellite players from 3.8 GHz to higher frequency

DoT starts doling out PLI to manufacturers, GX Telecom gets 1st cheque

The Department of Telecom has started disbursing production-linked incentives to shortlisted manufacturers who have completed their target for 2021-22, a government official said. Telecom gear maker GX Telecom, which has been shortlisted under the PLI scheme for promoting local manufacturing, said it received an incentive from the DoT under the scheme. Our vision for 2023 will be to develop products that are designed in India, made in India which will create skilled job opportunities in the direction of building India as a global hub ... with the incentive received further supporting new innovation to cater international market demands with indigenous products," GX International Group CEO Paritosh Prajapati told PTI. The company has a capacity to make 3.5 lakh units of GPON equipment which are used for rolling out broadband networks. GX Group Head of Sales Sambit Swain said that there is an increased demand for Made in India telecom equipment in the global market and the group is